Poulton-le-Fylde , commonly abbreviated to
Poulton, is a
market town in
Lancashire, England, situated on the
coastal plain called
the Fylde. In the
2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman settlement in England have been found in the area. At the time of the
Norman conquest of England Poulton was a small agricultural settlement in the
hundred of
Amounderness. The
church of St Chad was recorded in 1094 when it was endowed to
Lancaster Priory. By the post-Medieval period the town had become an important commercial centre for the region with weekly and triannual markets. Goods were imported and exported through two harbours on the
River Wyre. In 1837, the town was described as the "metropolis of the Fylde", but its commercial importance waned from the mid-19th century with the development of the nearby coastal towns of
Fleetwood and
Blackpool.